A Day To Celebrate Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Thomas, And Women’s Runners In Austin

AUSTIN, Texas—Gabby Thomas grabbed a megaphone and smiled before the assembled crowd of women outside the New Balance Austin Athletic Store on Congress Avenue.

How could she not? 

The three-time gold medalist from the 2024 Paris Olympics and Austin resident had for years worked to build community, both online and IRL. Events just like this. Bringing together women of all ages – the upwardly mobile, mothers, daughters, everyone in between. Wednesday marked the day of her signature shoe release, a pink and purple version of the New Balance Ellipse. It was a celebration. In January, Thomas released a bright pink version of her New Balance Spike, the FuelCell SuperComp MD-X v3. Maybe it was a two-for-one.  

She worked with New Balance, her sponsor since college, to collaborate with Your Mother’s Run Crew, a group in Austin founded by her former Harvard teammate, Ngozi Musa. Over 200 women slipped the shoes on their feet during a trial run down Congress Avenue, an out-and-back that hit the Capitol and ended up back at the store. 

Thomas ran the first few paces with the group. 

“Having my own signature collection, my own spike and shoe, is just something in my wildest dreams,” she said. “It’s not something I planned on, but it’s something I’ve earned.” 

The Chingones Run Club, based out of Kyle, Texas, arrived to support Gabby Thomas during the event on Wednesday. Photo Credit: Cory Mull/Austin Fit Magazine.

Community Supports Olympian Gabby Thomas

In business, success is a journey often seen in balance sheets and revenue streams. But on days like this, there’s also authenticity in face-to-face interaction — or escaping from the many screens (or AI slop) that distract us. 

Thomas didn’t have to look far to witness those bonds. A group of 20 women from Chingones Run Club, based out of Kyle, Texas, traveled to downtown Austin in bright pink t-shirts. Elsewhere, girls and women were dressed brightly. Hundreds of them. Some brought their dogs. Others took photos and videos on their iPhones. The event was all about Gabby Thomas, they said, but it also reflected their own experiences. 

“I always emphasize to others the importance of a third home,” said Jessica Larson, a co-founder of Chingones Run Club. “You have your home home, and you have your work home, but then you need someplace to go consistently where you have a community outside those two things. It needs to be something you enjoy and look forward to. I would say that’s our run club.” 

For others, like realtor Kellye Hancock, the event brought together the best of people. Your Mother’s Run Crew had started as a way to empower girls and women to be themselves – to run and walk together, whatever that pace may be. 

“People like Gabby have paved the way for women to excel in sports and what the they’ve done with this group is say, ‘All women are welcome,’’ Hancock said. 

At 29, Thomas is on her way toward building one of the most successful careers in U.S. women’s track and field history. She won three golds in Paris and owns two more medals from Tokyo. She won a world championship in 2023. She’s a five-time Diamond League champion. She’s also the second-fastest woman over 200 meters in U.S. history. 

Women mill around before the start of the run on Wednesday at the New Balance event.

Gabby Thomas’ Success Beyond The Track

But lately, she’s also been building beyond the track.

In 2024, she became a advisor-owner of Athlos (along with Sha’Carri Richardson and Tara Davis-Woodhall), an all-women’s track league led by Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian. She’s also a spokesperson for Nulo, a pet food company–she’s a dog mom of two pugs. There have been partnerships with the Austin Transit Partnership to advocate for a new light rail in Austin and a recent campaign in January with BetterWay to support blood testing and preventative health more accessible nationwide. 

“Naturally, you want to build on the track, and that comes with performances and times and medals,” she said. “But there’s also the off the track side of my career that I’m building, and that’s thinking about what legacy I want to leave behind in the sport. I really want to leave the sport better than I found it.” 

A bigger representation of that? In March, Ohanian visited Austin. Thomas, Ohanian and a business partner took a photo outside what looked to be a building-site. 

Thomas confirmed on Wednesday there’s certainly truth to that photo.

She said, “we’re building something to help Athlos grow in the United States and we want Austin to be a part of that.” 

Next up then?

The track season, of course. Thomas opened her 2026 season at The Texas Relays this past weekend at Mike Myers Stadium, tying her personal best in the 100 meters with a wind-legal time of 11 seconds. That was a really promising start considering she wasn’t able to qualify for the 2025 World Championships due to injury.

Now she’s looking to change gears this summer as a new competition, the World Ultimate Championships, arrives in Budapest in September. 

“The idea is to stay healthy, have fun, and run fast times. I’ll be running. You’ll see me all of 2026.”